Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren’s Trade Positions
Taking The “Free” out of Trade and Why They’re Wrong
By Andrea Reier
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
B ernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren lead as the most progressive candidates in a crowded field of diverse politicians in the Democratic Primary Race. Currently polling as runner-ups behind Joe Biden, the two candidates’ stances on anti-corruption in politics, the pharmaceutical industry, and multinational trading corporations has evidently resonated with the American people. Supporting their stances are the average working Americans whose freedom they seek to defend; the freedom to prosper within a rigged economy. However, despite their Never Trump rhetoric and popular progressive positions, Warren and Sanders’ trade policies align with President Trump more than any other Democratic candidates’.
The Trump administration has plunged the U.S into a trade war with China that has increased prices of goods and created inaccessible export markets for farmers, hurting their income. Many economists have stated that these new protectionist policies may create long term effects including a significant global economic slowdown. In response to the threat of a U.S recession, the stock market has had recent drops, though it is recovering. Rather than adopting the Trumpian nationalist approach (the idea that China is unfairly exploiting the US), Sanders and Warren have different objections to free trade. The two have asserted that free trade is dominated by multinational trading corporations that exploit their workers, harm the environment, and only benefit other big industries. While to some degree trade policies facilitate these three things, the overwhelmingly positive outcomes are overlooked. The laborer, whom they claim is exploited, is also an American consumer whose wages don’t carry worth if they can’t afford consumer goods. The truth is that nearly every reputable economist agrees that free trade is necessary for the production of goods and the promotion of positive international relations. The rhetoric that multinational companies dominating trade are solely negative is plain silly. If trade policies were entirely up to politicians, American businesses, who understand the procedure best, would be limited from engaging in exchanges that best promote the production and importation of goods. It could be comparable to a national athletic organization deciding the NFL’s team recruitment policies (which teams they are allowed to trade players with) when football corporations understand what is most beneficial for their teams and their audiences.
That isn’t to say, however, that some multinational corporations don’t tailor policies that enable them to profit from exploited workers and outsourced jobs. This should be handled as a cause for reform, not for protectionism or scapegoating free trade in and of itself. Additionally, free trade can serve to democratize trading partnerships. By lowering the prices of goods, free trade helps to disincentivize companies to pay their employees low wages. On the political side, good trade relations help to form alliances that can lead to progressive outcomes. When countries become mutual beneficiaries of one another, it opens doors to preconditions in trade agreements that would limit harmful economic and environmental policies.
Nearly 84% of Democrats support international free trade, an opinion which aligns with most expert economists. This means if Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren seek to be the most electable, they ought to refrain from taking anti-free trade positions. Free trade benefits American businesses, workers, and consumers alike as a necessary aspect of a healthy global economy. If the ideal image of Sanders and Warren is to become fully progressive, they should embrace a reformative free trade policy.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/14/stock-markets-wall-street-in-focus-amid-earnings-economic-data.html
https://www.mercatus.org/publication/benefits-free-trade-addressing-key-myths
https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/advantages-of-free-trade/
